


Simple Lovin'

by SliceofPeace



Category: South Park
Genre: Drug Use, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-03-29 02:42:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13917693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SliceofPeace/pseuds/SliceofPeace
Summary: Kenny leaves his parents home at the age of 17 after his father finds out he's gay. Butters lets him sneak in his room at night. A love story between two friends with a rough home life.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'll mention at the beginning of chapters if rape/noncon will be discussed in a chapter. I am not planning on going into graphic detail of what happened.

Fuck. Again. It happened again. He made his way across town as he sent out text after text. He arrived at Stark's pond while waiting for responses. The sole bench was already covered with a layer of fluffy snow from the last snowfall earlier that day. A quick swipe had the bench cleared and Kenny laying in it's vacated area just in time for new snow to begin drifting down around him. The snowflakes melted as they landed on the exposed strip of skin that Kenny's hood allowed the frigid air to reach. He never caught a break. It was too cold tonight. He didn't want to sleep outside again, but he received three no's from his 'best' friends. His heart clenched as he pulled up one more contact. Quickly he clicked out a message 'Can I stay over 2nite?' and waited, watching the snow blanket Stark's Pond.

It didn't take but a minute for the response to ring back in. "Gee, I don't know Kenny. I just got grounded again and I don't think my dad would be too happy about it. Are you good at climbing? You could sneak in the window if you wanted!'

Kenny chuckled at that, Butters texted the same way he spoke. He was always so willing to help out, which was why Kenny never asked him for help if he could avoid it. A quick stretch and he finally stood up from the bench. It had been a busy night for him. He fingered the bills in his pocket and stretched his back again as he made his way to Butter's house. Luckily, it wasn't a long walk. Kenny was wiped out and the thought of the climbing a tree was only exacerbating the exhaustion.

The branches were rough on his mostly numb hands, scraping new scratches into his flesh that seemed to burn stronger than it would have if he hadn't been so damn cold. His back throbbed with pain as he pulled himself up. The window slid up as soon as Butters spotted Kenny in the tree.

Butters whispered frantically, "Heya Kenny, we gotta be real quiet tonight, ok?"

Kenny nodded as he slipped through the window, being extra careful to make as little noise as possible. Butters had set out a sleeping bag on the floor for Kenny. Wasting no time or breath, he crawled into the warmth of the blanket.

"I was gonna sleep there, Ken. You can have the bed," Butters whispered.

Kenny snorted. "No thanks. Don't wanna get your bed dirty." His eyes were already slipping closed.

Butters frowned down at him before going to fiddle at his desk. A few seconds later some twangy country music started playing softly. "Need to borrow some pyjamas?" Butters voice was a little louder now but still couldn't be called anything more than a whisper.

Kenny started shivering as he slowly defrosted. He shook his head and fought the sleep that was trying so hard to claim him. He tried once to open his eyes back up but then slid into oblivion.

The morning came quickly. Through the haze of waking up from a deep sleep, Kenny heard whispers in his ear. He moaned slightly at the sensation and thrust his hips into the warm body in front of him. The arms around him tightened briefly. Kenny smiled at the small gasp of air that came from the man in front of him. It was rare for him to wake up with someone the next day. He could feel the other guy's arousal pressing into him as he rolled his hips again. He started pressing kisses on the cloth covered chest in front of him, enjoying the sounds the other guy was making, when his memory came rushing back to him. Butters. He was attacking Butters.

He groaned, in disappointment and disgust at himself as he pushed Butters away from him. Butters. The most innocent fucking kid in the whole fucking town and he was spending his morning groping on the guy. Finally opening his eyes, he clenched his teeth when he saw the dazed expression on the blonde's face. "Thought you were someone else," He muttered by way of apology.

Butters smiled at him. "That's all right Kenny." The blonde shifted over some. "I wish I didn't have to wake you so early."

"Did you put me on the bed?" He glanced down at his bare chest and grimaced at the bruises decorating his bare skin. "And undress me?"

Butters cheeks went from a faint pink to full-on red in a matter of seconds. "I w-well, I'm real sorry, Ken. You were shivering something awful and I just thought that you know, b-body h-heat would be the best way to get you warmed right up."

Butters was carefully avoiding looking at Kenny. He looked back down at his disgusting body. Too skinny. He could count each of his ribs. The ugly black blotches from the guys the night before were throbbing angrily. He swallowed and asked for his parka back. It was his turn to avoid looking at Butters. He didn't want to see the revulsion he saw anytime someone saw him naked for the first time, or in Stan's case, every single fucking time.

Safely covered again in the thick parka, he finally looked at Butters again. Pity. He was expecting it from the too-kind boy, but that didn't make it any easier to see. His heart started to race as shame overtook him. He fingered the cash still in his pocket, counting the bills over and over as he calmed himself down.

"Gotta go." His voice was muffled from the parka's hood, but that's how he liked it.

"Sorry, Ken, I really wish you could stay for breakfast."

Kenny shrugged and climbed through the window without another word. He glanced back to see Butters watching him walk away. He raised a hand in farewell, even though they would see each other again in just a couple hours.

He trudged around the house and started for the school bus stop. He'd wait there until it was finally time to go to school. Just three more months. He needed to make it three more months then he could get his own place. He would be on his own feet and there wouldn't be another pitying look thrown his way. He slouched against the bus stop sign, then slid down to sit.

He closed his eyes as he leaned his head back against the pole. The sky steadily brightened. He enjoyed watching the reds and oranges be chased away. For just a few minutes, the entire world was peaceful, just those few beats he could breathe easily and look forward to the future. As ever though, the birds began to call to each other, doors began to slam, and the world was as chaotic as ever.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Allusions to rape here. Also, if you get a chance, let me know what you're thinking so far!

First hour was study hall. One of the best things about his final year of school was this schedule. He never took any books home. He never had to do any homework at home. He could get it all finished first hour and be able to spend his after-school hours focussed on surviving another day. Today though, he could feel eyes burning into his back as he tried to work on the government assignment.

He managed to ignore it until a body slipped into the empty seat next to him. "S-sorry to disturb you, Kenny. I have that f-finished if you want some help?" Kenny accepted the offered paper. He had no problem with cheating. "Say, Kenny, I know it's none of my business, but those bruises looked mighty painful." Butters voice was cautious but as cheerful as ever.

Kenny slouched down in his seat and yanked on his hood's cords. "Yeah. I guess they were." His voice came out muffled, but not enough to fully hide what he said.

"What happened to ya, Ken?" Kenny's heart skipped a beat as he made contact with those baby blues. The sheer amount of concerned innocence in them made his jaw clench up as he looked away. He didn't want to be the one to spoil that look. He didn't want Butters, of all people, to be the one destroyed by him… and he would. Destroy him. There wasn't a single thing Kenny didn't ruin and destroy. He couldn't even fucking die correctly. Who fucked up death? One of the easiest things to do and he fucking came back every fucking time. "Kenny?"

He forced a smile. "Don't worry about it. Thanks for letting me stay last night." Why did he smile? That was fucking stupid. Butters couldn't see his mouth.

Butters cheeks pinkened. "Aw shucks, I'd do anything for you, Ken." The lump formed instantly in Kenny's throat. He quickly finished copying over the answers while avoiding looking at Butters. "If you need to stay again, come on over. Now my parents won't ever b-be ok with it s-so you'd have to keep on climbing that ole tree but my bed's big enough for the both of us."

Kenny's fingers found the money in his pocket. All of his money, every bit of that he'd saved up in the past couple months since he'd stopped returning home was always on his body. A regular place to sleep in a warm bed, the thought was tempting and everything he was saving for... and then he remembered what he'd done to Butters this very morning. After one night, he was already working to destroy this smiling creature in front of him.

_Disgusting. Freak. You made me do this. This is your fault. You and your perversions. Is this what you wanted?_ His hands started shaking as those thoughts overtook him. The school library blurred out and all he saw was his dirty old mattress at home with his porn magazines spread out on them. His dad had waited for him to get home that day, waited and followed him up to his room.

"Kenny?" A hand touched his own and he jerked back. It took a second for him to realize where he was and several minutes before his heart finally started to calm back down. He shook his head at Butters. The room suddenly seemed too small to stay in - so he didn't. He walked out, ignored the library aides yelling for him, ignored the teachers he passed in the hallway, and didn't stop until he was back at Stark's pond.

He sucked in a deep breath of the frozen air and felt a smile form on his face. It was peaceful out here. South Park was too chaotic. There was never enough silence to just enjoy the peace. Satan, aliens, or crab people or something was always happening.

He wasn't out there for long, His phone went off. Chaos calling to him again. Never a moment for peace. Never a moment to just be. He had three people assigned to that particular vibration pattern. He fingered the bills in his pocket and sent a quick affirmative response as he headed back into town.

Three closeted gay men in town paid him for use of his body. He didn't care how they did it or what they did as long as they paid up front and used a condom if they stuck it up his ass. Last night, John One had recommended him to someone else. It was a risk, as always, but he tried it out. It was supposed to have been an hour or two in a hotel room then Kenny would have the room to himself for the night. Instead, he had been jumped by two guys. By the time they had finished, he was just thankful he'd been left alive. He hadn't died since leaving home. He wasn't sure what would happen now. He snorted, he'd probably be tossed out the door still naked, freshly reborn, and back to zero dollars to his name.

* * *

"Kenny?" Butters had tried calling his name several times, but Kenny's eyes were fixed on something Butters couldn't see. "Kenny, you ok?" His face was white as a sheet and he was breathing shallowly. "Oh geez." Butters was starting to panic. "Kenny?" He grabbed hold of the clenched fist laying on the desk causing the first reaction Butters had seen. Kenny jumped back and held his clenched fist against his chest. Butters could read the fear in the wide eyes on Kenny's face.

"Kenny?" He called again, but he wasn't totally sure Kenny heard him. Next thing he knew, Kenny was a step away from running out of the library. He stood up, about to run after him but the voice in the back his head screaming  _You're grounded_ had him slowly sitting back down.

Next hour, before class started, Butters approached Stan and explained what had happened both the night before and in study hall. "W-what do you think's goin' on?"

Stan's dark brown eyes were troubled. "Ah, yeah, Kenny's having a rough time." He shrugged. "He'll figure it out though. Don't worry."

Butters frowned. He knew he wasn't a part of their friend group, not really, but Kenny clearly needed some help. "W-well now I w-wish I didn't h-have to worry, b-but it's clearly i-impossible f-f-for me to just i-ignore this." He was kicking himself for that stupid stutter. Every time he thought it was getting a little better, he'd go and get himself all worked up and it'd return worse than ever.

"Chill Butters. Kenny's fine. He'll tell you if he wants you to know." He felt his face flush in embarrassment. Yeah, who was he to demand to know what was going on. Kenny rarely spoke to him so it wasn't like they were super best friends. "Thanks for letting him stay over last night, though. Our parents won't let him stay too much anymore." Stan was giving him a grateful smile. "We all hate it, but until we're out of our parents' roofs we can't really do much."

Butters nodded. In the past couple months, he watched Kenny go from a mostly aloof chain smoker who enjoyed hanging out behind the school with the rest of the smokers and laughing about whatever it was they laughed at to someone who jumped in fear when he was touched unknowingly, someone who would cast furtive glances at everyone surrounding him, someone who was afraid of everything and doing his best to hide it. "Is K-Kenny g-gay?" He finally murmured to Stan, being careful to keep his voice too low for their neighbors to hear.

Stan hesitated, "Talk to Kenny," he finally said and turned away. Butters sighed, it was clear that conversation was over. School went by unbearably slow. Arriving home resulted in the usual screams from his parents who were sure he could have walked in the door five minutes sooner. He did his best to apologize and promise to try to do better and stop messing up, but they added five more chores to his list anyway.

"Oh, hamburgers," He muttered when he saw the last chore on the list. He hated cleaning the garage out. His dad's car leaked oil and he wasn't allowed to come back inside until the stain was up or the sun rose the next day, whichever came first. The sun rising always came first, though. There was his sleeping bag, already waiting for him on top of the car.

Sure enough, the windchill steadily increased as the sky slowly darkened. He was still scrubbing the same spot on the garage floor when his dad came out hootin' and hollerin' about how it should've been cleaned by then. It ended with garage door slammed shut and locked from the outside. They had the only garage door on the block that had a deadbolt on the outside. Butters immediately quit scrubbing. Once the door was locked, that was it. His parents would eat dinner and go to bed without once checking in on Butters.

Butters had long ago stashed a novel in here for these nights, which happened more often than he'd like to admit, a novel and a dirty magazine that Craig had given him when he first told him he thought he might have a thing for fellas. He wasn't real sure what to do with it, but since he was the only one who used the cleaning supplies in the garage, he thought that was as good a place as any to stash it.

His mind wasn't in the right spot for the dirty magazine. So he lay back in the sleeping bag and tried to get lost in the world of magic. There was no erasing that image of Kenny, covered in bruises and way too skinny to be considered healthy, though. He knew Kenny's parents weren't very nice, but he never knew it was that bad. Of course, he'd never seen Kenny not wearing his thick parka, at least not in recent years.

Giving up on the novel, he put it to the side and rolled over on his side. It was more uncomfortable than laying on his back but he needed to shift around some. Kenny. He couldn't get the blonde out of his thoughts. Granted, he always seemed to think of the bundled up boy, but now it was different. Before, his fantasies involved Kenny's smiling while holding his hand. Now that he saw that neglected, abused body, the fantasies involved going out to eat, protecting him from all the mean people, and snuggling like they did last night.

Snuggling. Oh Jesus, that really happened. A flash of heat coursed through him at the memory of Kenny's sleepy smile as he rolled his hips into Butters. Kenny had been just as aroused as Butters was. Without thinking, Butters reached beneath the waistband of his sweats. His breath hitched as his other hand traced where Kenny had pressed kisses. He moaned softly as his stroking got faster, the pressure building rapidly. He reached a hand out to grab his magazine when his phone started beeping loudly. He jumped fumbling for his phone, erection wilting immediately, as he frantically tried to get it to be quiet. His parents wouldn't normally allow him to keep his phone out here but they'd forgotten to take it from him before going in for the night. He knew there wasn't a very good chance of them hearing it all the way out there, but Butters would rather not risk it.

Finally getting the device to quiet down, he felt his cheeks burn as he saw a text from Kenny waiting for him. A quick glance at the fogged over window reassured him that there was no way anyone had seen what he was doing, let alone what he was thinking about while doing it. It was the exact same message he'd sent last night, but it was harder to answer tonight. 'Well, gee, Ken. I sure wish you could. I'm sleeping in the garage tonight though. It's just a deadbolt lock so it's real easy to get in. If you don't mind sleeping in the garage with me then come on over.' He read the message over twice then hit send.

Before forgetting, he switched his phone to vibrate only. Then waited, and waited, and waited. After fifteen minutes of no response, he assumed Kenny wasn't coming. It was only 9:30, a lot earlier than it was when he came over last night. Butters sighed, he was looking forward to a chance to see Kenny alone again. It was sophomore year of high school that Butters started to realize what that feeling was he got when looking at Kenny. Of course, it took him several months to even acknowledge it and once he did he went straight to Craig.

Butters chuckled as he remembered Tweek freaking out because he thought Craig was cheating on him with Butters after catching them in the middle of whispered conversations several times throughout the week. It didn't take long for Craig to calm him down though. Craig had always been good at calming Tweek down. Tweek's freakouts had reduced so much that he was a completely different person these days. Though, that may have a lot to do with Craig convincing him to switch to decaf. Either way, Tweek wasn't so twitchy these days. They had told Butters of their plans to stick around South Park. Tweek got too anxious when he thought of moving somewhere else and Craig had never really wanted to leave South Park anyway. It made Butters happy to know at least a couple of his friends would be sticking around past graduation.

They regularly invited Butters to hang out, but Butters had been grounded since their senior year began so it was straight home from school until he could learn to behave himself. His birthday was coming up though, and he had high hopes he'd finally have a little bit of free time to spend it out with his friends. His daydream of a party with friends was cut short when he heard the rasping of the deadbolt being unlocked.


	3. Chapter 3

Butters bolted upright. The door opened just wide enough for a body wearing an unmistakable parka to slide underneath along with a gust of freezing air. "Didn't want to make too much noise."

Butters nodded, "Thanks, Kenny." He shifted uncomfortably in the sleeping bag. "Sorry, you gotta stay out here tonight."

Kenny shrugged. "At least it's warm." There was a beat of silence where Kenny pushed his hood off. Butters swallowed heavily as he was offered unhindered views of the most handsome man in school. "Can I smoke?"

Butter shook his head frantically. He'd never get ungrounded if his parents smelled cigarette smoke. "I don't know Kenny, I-"

"Don't want to be grounded? You're already sleeping on a blanket in the garage. How much worse does it get for you?" There wasn't any mocking in that voice, just curiosity.

"Oh, y-ya know… J-just n-normal grounding s-s-stuff." Kenny didn't look convinced. "Are you gay?" He blurted out, desperate to both change the subject and get an answer.

Kenny's eyes widened, then slowly closed. He let out a sigh. Butters heart was thudding as he waited for the answer. Finally, quietly, Kenny answered, "Yes."

Butters felt his cheeks burning as he opened his mouth again, but then he shut it. He couldn't ask him more questions.

"Wouldn't it be more comfortable to sleep in the car?" Kenny asked.

Embarrassment rushed through him. He'd been spending random nights in the garage for the past three years and never thought to sleep in the comfortable seats of his dad's SUV. "Oh, uh, y-yeah I guess it would." He folded down the back seat so they'd both have room to stretch out and popped open the hatch. They sat leaning against the sides of the interior. Butters had his legs crossed while Kenny had one hanging out and swinging slightly. "Who were you thinking about this morning when you, ah, w-when you…" He couldn't bring himself to finish that sentence. His face already felt like it was going to burn off, he couldn't imagine saying more than that.

"When I was humping you?" There was a hint of laughter from Kenny. "Man, I just didn't want you to freak the fuck out on me. I did it once to Stan too. He didn't freak out as much as I thought he would either." Kenny shrugged. "I'm really turned on in the mornings and felt that you were too."

"Is Stan gay too?"

Kenny shrugged. "Who knows?" Then stopped and shot a narrow-eyed look to Butters. "Are you?"

Butters blushed but kept his head up with confidence as he nodded. "W-well yeah, Kenny, I suppose I am."

"No shit?" Kenny laughed and shook his head. "Always guessed so but it's nice to have it confirmed. Kyle's a little faggy ass too. Want me to set you up?"

He didn't think it was possible, but he felt his cheeks getting more red. "N-no th-thanks. I already h-h-have someone I l-like."

"Relax. I'm not going to force you to say who or anything."

Butters nodded but couldn't calm his racing heart. "What a-about you, Ken?" Kenny's sardonic grin dropped almost immediately. He pulled out his pack of cigarettes and tapped the box repeatedly.

"Do you want a blowjob?"

Butters blinked. "S-sorry, Ken. I d-don't th-think I heard you right."

"A blowjob. Want me to suck your dick?"

Butters felt himself get hard instantly. Yes. He wanted that. Then he saw the look in Kenny's eyes. A watered-down version of the look he got at study hall. "Well shucks, Kenny. You don't look like you want to do that." Butters swallowed and looked down, "If you'd be willing too, though, do you think we could cuddle again tonight?" He thanked the heavens when it came out without a stutter.

There was silence, causing Butters to look up again. Kenny had pulled out a cigarette and was holding the unlit stick of cancer between his lips. He had his eyes narrowed in suspicion at Butters. "That's all you want from me?"

"W-well yeah! If you'd want t-too at least."

Kenny nodded his head. "Did you mean it when you said I could come over when I want?"

"O-of course!"

The cigarette was slipped back into the pack. Kenny kicked his boots off and slipped out of the parka. Butters swallowed heavily as he lay down and arranged the blankets. Kenny crawled into his arms. His head was resting right below Butters shoulder. Butters was sure Kenny could feel every beat of his thudding heart, but he ignored the way it made him want to blush. Instead, he wrapped his arms around the thin boy and held him tight. "This is all you want?" Kenny verified.

Butters felt his enjoyment of the simple cuddle wilt at that question. "W-we don't h-have to. I j-just enjoyed it. I've n-never c-c-c-cuddled before."

Kenny nodded and tossed his leg over Butters. His arm settled across his chest with his fingers tracing soft designs on Butters neck. "Is this ok?" Butters whimpered at how hard he was getting from that gentle touch. Kenny's fingers stilled for a second, then Butters felt the warm body shift up until he was leaning over Butters. Butters breath was coming in gentle gasps. Kenny slowly leaned down and pressed his forehead against Butters'. "Is this ok?" He murmured again.

Butters swallowed and tried to calm his breathing. He nodded and his eyes fluttered closed. Time seemed suspended as he waited for Kenny to close that small gap between their lips. The small gusts of warmth on his lips had an ache blooming deep inside him, but instead of closing that gap, instead of a kiss, there was a sudden chill in the air. "What're you doing?" Butters voice was steady but raspy. Kenny was getting his boots back on. He zipped up his parka and disappeared through a blast of cold from the garage door.

Confused, he grabbed his phone and sent a text before he could think better of it.

' _Sorry if I did something wrong. I sure didn't mean to make you angry. Come back and sleep. I don't want you to be cold, Ken. You don't hafta kiss me or nothin'. Heck, I'll even sleep in the front seats and you can sleep back here. I promise I won't touch you unless you really want me too.'_

There was silence. No vibration. No response. Butters felt his eyes fill with tears, but he was determined to not let them fall. "Aw, phooey." He sniffed and wiped his eyes. He's just a foolish, childish person. How could he ever expect Kenny to return any sort of affections to him? He fell back and pulled the blankets tighter around him, right as the door opened back up. "Kenny?"

Sure enough, the parka covered boy had returned. "I sucked someone else's dick earlier today. I want to kiss you, but I didn't want…" There was silence. Butters waited for him to find his words. "I just, fuck, I don't know, Butters." His words were fast and tense. "You're just a, you're a good fucking guy and I'm just a fucking whore who fucks anything around. I'll hurt you. Or destroy you. I don't want to be the one who… I don't want to…" Kenny groaned and dropped his head into his hands. "If I were to kiss you, I'd want it to mean more than just a fucking kiss or night of sex or whatever the fuck it is you're wanting from me."

"Do you mean that, Kenny?" Butters swallowed past the knot in his throat. Here was everything he'd ever wanted presented to him on a platter. He almost couldn't believe it. "I want more than that too. Well, shucks, I mean if you'd be willin' then I'd sure like to be able to call you my boyfriend."

Butters frowned and told himself not to cry when he saw the fear in Kenny's eyes again. He was shaking his head. "Butters… I'm fucking trailer trash. You could get with anyone in our school, even the straight ones. Fucking Token would love to have you up his ass." Butters blushed at that. Kenny sure did have a potty mouth on him.

"Well, I don't want Token or any of those straight guys. I've wanted you for years, Kenny. You always were the best one in our school." Kenny was shaking his head. "Come on, Ken. Now if you don't want to because you don't like me then go right on ahead and turn me down. But if you're only saying no because you think you're not good enough for me then I'm just gonna have to prove you wrong."

Kenny hesitated, then kicked his boots back off, slipped his parka back off, and crawled back into Butters waiting arms. The smell of smoke was now clinging to the thin boy's skin. Now generally Butters didn't like the smell of that nasty cigarette smoke, but now, holding Kenny in his arms as they slowly drifted off to sleep, he wasn't sure he'd ever smelled anything quite as nice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is going to focus on Style! Hope you enjoy!


	4. Chapter 4: Style

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and next will be on Style then it's back to Bunny <3

"Dude, have you noticed Butters and Kenny recently?"

His heart started thudding immediately. Kyle looked up from his trig book to where Stan had collapsed in the closest chair to him. "No, what about them?"

"They're totally hooking up."

Kyle narrowed his eyes. "Kenny wouldn't do that to Butters."

Stan shrugged and lay his head down on the library table. "I don't know. I mean, I'm not gay, but if I had to choose a guy to do…"

Kyle rolled his eyes and ignored the way his heart stopped for a beat at that statement. Butters was handsome, but he was  _so_ innocent. Kyle didn't think Stan would've found that attractive. "Kenny told us himself when he first left his home. He's not getting into any sort of relationship until he had things settled down."

Stan glanced around to verify they were alone. "Dude, you should see the way his eyes follow Butters' every movement. I haven't seen him look like that since... ever in the entire time we've known him… and he's seriously cut back on smoking."

Kyle shook his head. There was no way. Kenny had been smoking like a chimney since freshman year. "Yeah, Butters is hot, but this is Kenny we're talking about. He's not going to change himself just to get some dick."

"Butters has brought Kenny lunch the past two weeks. Which you'd know if you'd, y'know, join us for lunch occasionally."

Kyle's eyes met Stan's accusing ones. "I'm in a lot of advanced classes. I need the extra time to study."

Stan rolled his eyes and shot him a grin that had Kyle smiling back even before he said, "I miss my super best friend."

He ignored the way his heart hurt hearing that. Kyle had been avoiding Stan. Every time he was around him, it got harder and harder to not scream his true feelings out to him. "Have you talked to Kenny about any of this?"

"No."

"Don't you think that'd be the first step to figuring out what all was going on?"

Stan frowned, "Remember how Kenny was when he first started this… job." Kyle understood why it was so hard for him to say that. There had been countless nights Kenny had shown up covered in bruises, bleeding, and occasionally some pretty suspicious marks on the front of his parka.

"Yeah. Hard to forget." Giving up on his trig, he closed the book and swiveled in the seat to fully face Stan.

"Did he ever tell you why he stopped going back home? What the final straw was?" Kyle shook his head. Stan nodded and closed his troubled eyes. "Ah, yeah. He never told me either." There was some silence. "Are you busy after school?"

Kyle steeled himself to reject his friend. "Yeah, I have to study."

"Dude, take a break. It's Friday. Let me come over and play some video games." Kyle shook his head and tried to ignore the hurt expression Stan was giving him. "What's going on? Is this because I started hanging out with Wendy so much? We broke up, y'know? Weeks ago. But you're never around so it's not like you're trying so hard to hang out with me either."

Kyle shrugged. "I need to get good grades. Maybe over break, we can figure something out." That was a lie. Kyle was going to skip on any activities they planned and he knew it, and based on the look Stan was giving him; Stan knew it too.

"Is it because you're gay? 'Cause, y'know, I don't care about that. You can be gay all you want." Kyle had to bite his lip to keep from responding to that. Spotting Kyle's moment of weakness, Stan continued, "I'll even help you hook up with someone. Token's having a party tonight, or Clyde is but it's at Token's. Come on, let's go get wasted and find someone you have a boner for."

Kyle snorted. He'd already found someone he had a boner for. "No thanks, man. I'm just going to stay in tonight." He swallowed and tried to ignore the flash of anger in Stan's eyes, but it was impossible when Stan wasn't making any effort to hide it. With a shake of his head, Stan left without another word. Kyle opened his book back up and tried to pretend it didn't hurt to see his friend walk away from him.

* * *

"This is stupid. This is so stupid," He muttered to himself. Kyle was pacing just around the corner from Token's place. He didn't want to go. He had no urge to go. There was nothing and no one waiting for him there. Yet, the anger and pain in Stan's eyes kept flashing through his mind.

He steeled himself with a deep breath and rounded the corner. Head held high and stepping with purpose, he walked down the street and into Token's house. The music was unbearably loud. He could feel the beat rumble through his chest as his heart tried to match the pace. Everyone in their grade was already there along with several kids who already graduated and a couple from the younger grades. He stared at a couple kids who had to be in middle school still but shook it off. It's not like they hadn't done worse when they were kids.

He squeezed his way through the crowded bodies gyrating in what he guessed was supposed to be a dance, to the kitchen. Two quick shots of Captain helped boost his confidence. Coke and rum in hand, he continued scouting for Stan, through the kitchen and into the backyard where he finally found him sitting by the fire pit with Butters, Kenny, Tweek, and Craig.

He hesitated. Kyle still didn't know what to say to Stan, so he took a couple seconds to just observe the group and let the shots he took and the rum in his drink tamp down on his nerves.

Tweek and Craig were in their own little conversation. He felt a pang of jealousy at the way they looked at each other. Craig had his arm around Tweek's waist. Tweek was smiling down at his drink. His nervous tics were still there, but as long as Craig was around, they weren't near as bad. He watched Craig lean over and press a kiss to Tweek's cheek, who then blushed and spilled some of his drink as he jumped. It made Kyle smile to see them still happy together.

Kenny watching the same interaction with a look of determination. Kenny's arm slipped around Butters waist as well, causing that innocent smile Butters has had all these years, to bloom across the blonde's face. Butters turned and pressed an enthusiastic kiss to Kenny's lips. Kenny had an unsure grin on his face, then he leaned in and kissed Butters again. Kyle chuckled. Kenny and innocent PDA wasn't something he ever expected to witness. He really had missed out on some important development.

Finally, unable to ignore him anymore, he turned his gaze to Stan. The dark haired boy was staring at the fire with a dejected look on his face. He lifted his bottle and chugged it down. Kyle recognized the red label and turned back to the kitchen. He returned with more rum than coke in his refilled cup and a fresh bottle of Bud for Stan. A deep breath to brace himself and Kyle stumbled forward. The alcohol was already making his legs feel numb.

He fell into the vacant lawn chair next to Stan, who looked up in surprise at sudden body joining them. Kyle gave a hesitant grin and held out the beer. Stan's expression didn't change, then he looked between the beer and Kyle a couple times and a massive grin broke out across his face. "Thanks, dude."

Kyle wondered if Stan should drink that beer, if his glassy expression left any questions as to how much he had to drink, the pile of empty bottles next to him answered it. He ignored that though as he recalled how much alcohol he'd drank in a much shorter time period.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Kenny asked, his dark blue eyes boring into Kyle's. Kyle noticed he hadn't removed his arm from around Butters.

"I'm taking a lot of advanced classes."

"So is Butters." Butters blushed at Kenny's tone. Complete bragging about his boyfriend. "He still manages to be around."

Kyle shrugged and drank down half his drink. He had already been feeling the alcohol, but the buzz grew stronger as he sat by the warmth of the fire. He hadn't touched any sort of alcohol in a couple months and severely reducing the ratio of coke to rum was going to hit him hard, fast. "I thought you were grounded still?"

Butters shot a worried look to Kenny. "W-well yeah, I suppose I am. Kenny convinced me to sneak out since it's my birthday next week and he wanted to celebrate with me." Kenny was blushing again by the end of that. Kyle laughed, he never would have thought Kenny would want to be with innocent Butters.

"Next week? You're turning 18?" Kyle asked, and received a nod in response. He turned, wide-eyed, to Kenny. "Are you going to get an apartment together then?" The alcohol had him saying things he knew probably should've been kept in his mind.

"W-w-w-well now it's j-j-just a l-little to early to be t-talkin' 'bout l-l-iving together." There was silence. "I-isn't it?"

Kyle blinked, confused. The liquor was hitting him hard. Kenny was giving him a look but he could decipher what it meant. He took another drink and asked, "You haven't told him your plan?"

"Shut up Kyle," Stan muttered from next to him.

"But if he's turning 18 first and you guys ar-" Kyle's voice cut off as he was yanked up and pulled away in a stumbling speed walk. It took supreme skill, and the support from the tight grip on his upper arm, to not have fallen over immediately. "What the fuck, Stan?"

Stan pulled him around the corner until they were tucked away from view between the garage and the house. The serious look on his face was obvious even in Kyle's severely inebriated state. He pulled a joint out of his coat pocket. He held it up with a questioning look. Kyle frowned, of course he'd smoked weed with everyone a time or two but it wasn't something he was crazy for. The way Stan was looking at him, as if he knew Kyle was about to say no, had him agreeing. They were still silent as Kyle lit up first, he held the smoke in until Stan had finished his hit. Stan blew the smoke out smoothly as a content smile lit up his face. Kyle coughed the smoke out and took another hit. They passed it back and forth a couple times, then Stan pocketed what remained.

Kyle leaned back against the house and took a deep breath of the cold air. He exhaled out his mouth and giggled at the vapor produced. "Look, Stan, I'm still smoking." He leaned his head back and blew out a couple more times. He lightly ran his fingers over the fabric of his jeans. The rough fabric made him smile even wider.

He jumped and his eyes, which he didn't even realize he had shut, popped open when he was suddenly wrapped in a tight hug. "I miss my super best friend." Kyle could barely make out what those murmured words were. The arms around him tightened. "I miss you," Stan whispered in Kyle's neck.

Stan's lips had just barely grazed his skin, but he could feel the fire from those small points of impact. Kyle swallowed hard as he tried to focus on how he  _should_  act through the haze in his mind. He wrapped his arms around Stan. His fingers automatically starting tracing designs in the soft coat Stan was wearing. He hummed at the pleasurable sensation on his fingertips. Then, before his sober mind could even think about trying to speak over everything racing through his system, he turned his head and pressed a kiss to Stan's cheek. Stan pulled back, with a confused look in his glassy eyes. Kyle reached up, ran his fingers through those blacks strands of hair and giggled at the new sensation. "So soft." He pulled Stan's head back down and nuzzled into those glossy strands.

Stan's breathing was becoming rough. The rapid gusts of air rushed over Kyle's cold skin, sending warmth straight to his groin. He moaned slightly and pressed kisses leading from the midst of Stan's incredibly silky hair to the junction where Stan's neck met his shoulder. He paused in the soft kisses to scrape his teeth over the skin there and was pleasantly surprised to hear the groan of encouragement. "You still get horny when you're high then." There was no question in Stan's deep voice.

In response, Kyle's hands settled on Stan's hips, he hooked his fingers through the belt loops and yanked him flush against his body. He couldn't hold back the moan as there was finally pressure on his aroused dick. Somewhere in the back of his hazy mind, he knew he needed to stop, but then Stan rolled his hips forward. Kyle cried out, but it was cut off by Stan's mouth on his own. When he felt an answering hardness thrusting against him, he gave up the futile attempt of clearing his mind. He ran his fingers through the silky black locks again and met Stan thrust for thrust.

So much sensation. Stan was rolling his hips mercilessly against Kyle as his tongue probed for entrance to his mouth. When Stan's cold fingers snuck beneath his shirt to trace a light, gentle pattern - at complete odds with the roughness of the rest of his actions - on his hip bones it was suddenly too much. Kyle shoved Stan back, turned to the side and puked.


	5. Chapter 5: Style

The world came back into existence slowly. The quiet whirr of the heater running was the first thing Kyle noticed. Followed closely by the weight of his thick quilt on him. He tried to turn over but the quilt got heavier around him and groaned. Kyle's eyes popped open. What? He saw an arm tossed across his chest instead of the quilt he was expecting.

He pushed the arm off his chest, rolled over, and puked… right into the trash can that had been pulled to his bedside. Kyle gasped for air as he tried to keep the dry heaves from happening. A hand landed on his back - his bare back, where's his shirt? - and rubbed gentle circles while Kyle got himself under control. "You ok? There's water and ibuprofen to your right." A rush of gratitude washed through him. His head was throbbing with the beat of his heart, but at least the urge to vomit was now gone.

Stan was behind him. Why was Stan in bed with him? The water washed the pill down easily, but Kyle didn't stop drinking until the glass was empty. He lay back only for Stan to pull him closer again. "What..?" was all Kyle could get out and it was muffled against Kyle's bare, and broad, chest. Sudden images of passing a joint back and forth before being shoved against a wall, no wait, he was already against the wall? Did he shove Stan against a wall? There was no way he could have done that unless Stan had wanted to be shoved against a wall.

Stan just hummed softly and gave Kyle a squeeze before saying, "Are you going to be sick again?" Kyle shook his head. "Good. Go back to sleep." He didn't think he'd be able to fall asleep, but next thing he knew, he was waking up to a sun brightened room with soft snores rumbling in his ear.

His head still ached but not near as bad and there was no urge to vomit. He swallowed as nerves hit him hard. Finally, he turned his head and couldn't have prevented the soft smile from spreading across his face. Kyle was fast asleep on his back with an arm thrown over his head and his mouth agape. He was bare-chested, and god had it been a long time since Kyle had a chance to see Stan shirtless. There was a small patch of dark hair on his chest that Kyle wanted to run his fingers through. The memory of Stan's soft hair slammed into him and went straight to his groin as the rest of the night slowly trickled back into his mind.

He flung himself back, falling off the bed and yanking the blanket with him, away from the shirtless Stan who blinked blearily at the sudden change of temperature. Thank god he was wearing boxers. Oh fuck. Fuck. Kyle couldn't get his thoughts in any sort of recognizable order. "How're you feeling?" Stan's dark eyes, fuck he looks good, bored into Kyle's.

Kyle's throat went dry. He coughed to clear it. "Uh, better."

Stan stretched and sat up. "Do you remember last night?"

 _Don't blush. Fucking damn it, don't blush._ Kyle felt his cheeks heat up.  _Fuck._  "Uh, vaguely."

Stan chuckled, "You're a horny fucker once you get some weed in you, man."

"Uh, yeah." Damn it. Kyle tried desperately to find something normal to say. "That's why I don't smoke much, dude." That was normal enough. Right? "I didn't think weed did that to you though?"

His eyes widened as Stan's cheeks darkened. "Ah, sorry about that. Since Wendy and I broke up, it hasn't taken much to get me going." His face split into a devilish grin, "You're a much better kisser now."

Kyle snorted. "I would hope so. We were what? Eight? When we last kissed."

Stan shrugged and flopped back again. "Bring the blanket back up here. I don't want to get up yet." Kyle obliged. The house wasn't as warm as Kyle would've liked it to be and he was more than happy to curl back up under the blanket. It was easy to feel comfortable alone with Stan again, as though he hadn't been trying to push him away for the past few months. "Who've you been kissing? Haven't you been single forever?"

Kyle snorted again. "What year are you living in? Since when do you have to be in a relationship to kiss people? Or fuck people?" Stan's face changed but smoothed out before Kyle could figure out what he was thinking.

"I didn't realize you were… I mean, fuck, dude. That's not very safe." Kyle wanted to be mad at that, but Stan was clearly still confused. He had a tendency to preach when he was still trying to figure out his own thoughts so Kyle found it too easy to ignore those words.

"We're 17, Stan. Now's the time to fuck around. I don't want a relationship. I don't have time for a relationship. I'm leaving South Park once I graduate so there's no point in starting something that won't have a happy ending."

Stan was frowning. He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. "You're not planning on coming back to South Park?"

"No. Are you?"

"Well yeah… This might be the weirdest fucking town in America, but fuck dude, it's home." Stan shrugged. "I haven't fully decided what I'm doing after school, but Kenny and I had talked about doing one of the programs at the community college. HVAC is always hiring and I think Kenny was looking at the electrician program and, shit, I don't know. I just never imagined you leaving."

Kyle stared up the ceiling with Stan. He didn't know everyone was planning on staying. "Yeah, dude. I just need something different I guess."

Out of the corner of his eye, Kyle saw Stan turn his head to watch him. Kyle ignored it and closed his eyes. Stan was a big reason he wanted to get away. It was too hard to watch him and Wendy be happy together. Now it wasn't Wendy, but it would be someone else soon. He couldn't do it anymore. "Where are you wanting to go?"

Kyle shrugged. "Where ever I get a scholarship to." There was silence. "Are you really worried about me being safe?" Kyle's heart was thudding as he tried to keep his breathing calm. He felt the bed dip and assumed Stan had rolled over.

"Of course I am." Kyle jumped as he felt Stan's arm fall over his chest and his body push into his side. He frowned. His mind rushed ahead of him, fantasizing about where this would go. He was hoping to feel an erect Stan pushing against him, asking for a continuation of the night before. He heard it perfectly, as though Stan had really said it,' _Stay safe with me. Just be with me and no one else.'_  but of course, it was just a fantasy.

He swallowed and answered as calmly as he could. "Well don't worry. I use a condom every time. Even for blowjobs." Stan's body stiffened beside him, but he kept his eyes closed.

"Good. Yeah, good. Ok." Stan was mumbling. "Y'know you can tell me who you've been fucking around with. I'm not gay, but I support you. Super best friends are here for a reason."

Kyle opened his eyes finally. Stan's face was set in a serious expression. His eyes were shuttered, he was forcing himself to be calm. Kyle could recognize all the signs. He didn't know what Stan was keeping from him, what emotion he was hiding, but there it was. More stuff kept secret between them. "I used to drive to Denver most weekends with Kenny. Kenny gets paid. I just get fucked." Well, really sucked, but Stan didn't need specifics. He shrugged yet again. "I don't do it for any money. I'm just out fucking around and being a teenager.

Stan's jaw was clenched. Kyle could see the cords standing out on his neck. "Ok. Yeah. That's fine. Lotta fun. Why wasn't I ever invited?"

"Because you were dating Wendy. Could you imagine what Wendy would do if she found out you came along with us so Kenny could get $20 per blowjob in a nasty ass bathroom at a gay bar."

"Then why not after we broke up?"

"That was after I stopped going to Denver. I wasn't kidding when I said I needed all the extra time to study. Kenny had some regulars who would come to South Park to fuck him so he hasn't been going either, at least not that I know of. Plus, it was a gay bar." Kyle eyed Stan. "Hasn't Kenny told you any of this?"

"No. Why would he? And I could still come along. Just because I'm not gay doesn't mean I can't go to a gay bar."

Kyle ignored that last bit. Gay bars were a sanctuary for the LGBT crowd and he wouldn't ever be the one to bring a straight friend along. "I figured you guys would be hanging out more if you're not dating Wendy and I've been too busy to hang out with anyone anymore."

Stan shrugged looking embarrassed. "I only really see him at lunch. We just never fell back into the swing of hanging out I guess." Stan shifted a little, before making eye contact again. "Do you miss, uh, going to Denver?"

Does he miss getting my dick sucked? Uh. Yeah. "Do you miss having Wendy around to suck your dick when you wanted?"

Stan's cheeks reddened. "It really wasn't whenever I wanted. She thought blowjobs were demeaning to women and only ever did it one time."

Kyle was stunned. How did they date for that long and Stan only get one blowjob? "So you've only ever had one blowjob… ever?" Stan nodded. "Dude, what the fuck?" Kyle couldn't stop the laugh that slipped out.

Stan looked even more embarrassed. "I know, but what was I supposed to do?"

Kyle laughed more. "Hey, no worries man. You'll get plenty more with your next girlfriend."

Stan gave him a tense smile and even more tense chuckle. "Yeah. Wanna play some video games?"

Kyle stretched. He smelled gross, like vomit and weed, and he was starving. "Let me shower. Want to go get a pizza and hole up here for the rest of the day?"

Stan's smile was blinding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bunny returns in the next chapter!


End file.
